Virginia Direct Mail Company Pays $743,443 in Back Wages, Damages, And Penalties Following U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

MANASSAS, VA - A direct mail company has paid $355,672 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 73 employees to resolve violations of overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

WHD investigators found that RPG Enterprise LLC - doing business as Planet Direct Mail - misclassified production employees as independent contractors, and failed to pay them overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The Manassas, Virginia, company also failed to maintain records required by law. The willful nature of the violations led to an additional assessment of $32,099 in penalties, which the company has paid.

 “Planet Direct Mail paid some employees the proper wages with overtime, while paying the misclassified independent contractors straight-time for the hours they worked in excess of 40 per week,” said Acting Baltimore Wage and Hour District Director John DuMont. “We are committed to holding employers accountable when they attempt to circumvent the law.”

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program.  For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.